Jake
Tucker is broken. At twenty-two, he went into the Marine Corps a naïve,
troubled youth. Nine years and four tours later, Jake finds himself back on US
soil, though his mind remains firmly planted in the sands of Afghanistan with
the men he left behind.

Wounded,
chewed up and spat out by war, Jake has only his dog, Nuke, PTSD, and
survivor’s guilt to keep him company. He’s lived every day for nine years
wondering when it will be his last, but there’s little comfort in the fact that
he’s still standing when his platoon isn’t.

Ellie
Mason doesn’t have time for broken. She’s too busy trying to put food on the
table. And keeping up with the demands of her autistic son, Spencer, is
sometimes like fighting behind enemy lines. As if navigating the minefields of
single parenthood isn’t enough, Ellie finds herself drawn to the quiet Marine
who’s just as lonely as she is. But she’s loved damaged men before, and it left
her wounded.

Set
against the picturesque backdrop of Fairhope, Alabama, Ellie and Jake find
themselves running toward the sound of chaos.

Love is
war.

Only the
strong survive, and surrender is inevitable.

I ease her down on her feet, before the bed and take a step
back. I want this, God do I want this, but I’m terrified. Elle’s eyes roam over
me and she takes in a deep breath, and I won’t lie—it hurts like hell. I don’t
want pity, and I don’t want the woman I care about looking at me like a monster
just sprouted from my back. She reaches out a hand and trails her fingertips
over my scarred flesh, feeling the hard, ugly edges. I flinch a little, and she
pulls away as if she’s been burned.

“Did I hurt you?” she whispers.

“Angel, it hurts just looking at you.”

She smiles and continues her exploration of my body, openin’
old wounds with every scar she touches, and yet it’s as if she’s tenderly
sewing them shut at the same time. I haven’t felt the touch of a woman for a
very long time, and never again did I think I would, especially not one as
perfect and kind-hearted as this.

“What did they do to you, Jake?” Her eyes are bright with
tears, and I grab her hands and hold them flat to my chest.

“I don’t want your pity, Elle.”

“You think that’s why I’m here?” she says, staring up at me
with those incredible eyes. “You think that’s all this is between us?”

“I thought about it.” I nod. “I can’t see much other reason
that a woman like you would want someone like me. I’m a freak and a drunk, and
you? You’re so goddamn beautiful it hurts.”

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something,
USA TODAY and international
bestselling author.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore
lipstick addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny north coast of
New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two
wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.

A romantic at heart, Carmen strives
to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives
completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little
torture?